i'm expanding this year and my local dealer 1 mile away from me sells 2 brands of handhelds: echo and redmax. of course i could go further for different brands, but its real nice to travel only 2 minutes to drop off/pick up equipment. so since i've pretty much narrowed it down to these 2 brands, how do these 2 manufacturers stack up against each other in the handhelds department?

P.S. just trimmers, edgers, and hedge clippers please, i'm already sold on the 8000

Turfdude

02-08-2006, 10:26 AM

Redmax will give you a choice of stick edger (heavy straight shaft - shaft driven like we use vs. bent shaft), their hedge trimmers blow away the competition (tanaka & echo from personal experience) and their line trimmers (shaft driven) take a long time to kill (I have had bad experiences w/ echo in the past w/ having to replace short blocks or pistons after only 1 season on more than 3 occasions). I have basically gone 100% redmax on 2 cycle equipment. Great warranty & built well.

rodfather

02-08-2006, 10:32 AM

I have basically gone 100% redmax on 2 cycle equipment. Great warranty & built well.

Same here...great minds think alike lol.:)

SoloMow

02-08-2006, 08:59 PM

Steal all my other equipment but leave my Redmax stick edger alone! When my trimmers wear out, I'll be looking at Redmax for replacements. I've been very happy with Redmax. :cool:

r.eckley

02-08-2006, 09:10 PM

I am going REDMAX almost 100% . Been using STHIL but got tired of it having morning sickness. Only had one piece of ECHO, a stick edger i bought used for 50$ used 3yrs and sold for 50$. Was o.k. but i really like my REDMAX equip. Also 2 yr. commercial warranty on REDMAX.

meets1

02-08-2006, 09:12 PM

All red max. Used to have echo. Now were running all red max and few kawa hegde trimmers. Great machine, great warrenty.

mkwl

02-08-2006, 09:40 PM

Red Max all the way! I have a Red Max BCZ2600S trimmer, and a Red Max EB7001 BP blower, and I LOVE them both!!! It's the best 2 cycle equipment out there IMO!!:) Stihl also makes high quality equipment!

lawnboy dan

02-08-2006, 09:53 PM

i would also pick redmax if i had to put all my eggs in one basket. best hedge trimmers in the industry hands down.

Envy Lawn Service

02-08-2006, 09:58 PM

Well, if you don't start at the bottom rung with Echo they have comparable stuff. Here, if I had no Stihl dealer, I would probably go Echo because RedMax just doesn't have much presence here. But overall I have not been hearing such great stuff about the newest Echos. So if I were in your shoes, I'd probably get the RedMax stuff.

ThirdDay

02-08-2006, 10:47 PM

All Echo stuff here.

We use only the commercial duty models with 23 to 26 cc's and are very happy with them. Great parts and dealer support in our area as well which is very important!

pasto_guy

02-08-2006, 11:19 PM

Redmax is the only way to go. I got my local dealer to start carrying the redmax line for me. I was replacing echo srm 2601's almost once a year. Since I have started using redmax I've replaced 1 in two years. Same employees, same gas/oil mix, same conditions. It's a no brainer.

samk

02-08-2006, 11:44 PM

I have all echo. They are good but i would probally switch if I did not get them so cheap.

Mlc gmc03

02-09-2006, 12:34 AM

after the last few years of carb problems i wouldnt take a echo if it was free, heck i woulndt take it if u paid me too

MJLsLawnCareNmoreLLC

02-09-2006, 12:42 AM

I generally stick with Redmax for handhelds.

vanguard

02-09-2006, 09:26 PM

Fast and reliable, it's the HBZ2600 for me! :)

boxsky

07-30-2006, 02:25 AM

I have almost all Echo. I would buy Redmax over Stihl, Shin, Husky, etc...
All guys I spoke to have been pleased with Redmax. IMO you won't go wrong with either of them. And dealer support makes all the difference too.

alot2lurn

07-30-2006, 03:31 AM

I've used both and Redmax is the best trimmer I've ever used and it was a few years old if I had a dealer close by I would have probably bought one over my Stihl.Echo's trimmers are about the only thing I like from them.But the Redmax is better.